Regenerative retort-furnace.



No. 885,740 7v PATENTED APR. 23, 1903 .0. H. ELIL= I v -.EGENBR,ATIVE RETORT FURNACE.

APPLICATION FILED r113. 16, 1901.

2 SHEETB- 'SHIGE'I' I No. 885,740. PATENTED APR. 28, 1908; 0. H. ELEBL. REGENERATIVE RETORT FURNACE.

APPLICATION TILED ,FEB. 16. 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

adf/ ax) STATES mrrnn PATENT OFFICE.

OSCAR H. ELIEL OF LA SALLE, ILLINOIS.

RE GENERATIYE! fiE'IORT-FURNACE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed. February 16, 1907. Serial No. 857,688;

Patented. April 28, 1903.

' To all whom it may concern:

regenerative furnaces for heating zinc-distilliug rctorts or the like; and the object of the improvements is to provide means for producing a continuous and better circulation and mixing of the rec-u erated oxygen and gases within the retort c iambers for the pur- )OSGS of combustion and production. attain this object bythe construction of furnace illustrated in the accompanying drawing,- wherein provision is made for intro duoing the combustible gases at the top of the retort chambers and'causing them to'pass downward through the same, and provision for introducing air containing oxygen for burning sucli gases at the bottom, and at intervals between the bottom and top and causing-the same to take upwardly inclined courses in order to meet the descending gases and be the better mixed therewith in combustion. W

Figure 1 of the-drawing is a transverse vertical section on the line 11 of Fig. 20f a regenerative retort furnace containing my improvement. the same. Fig. 2* is a detail showing a frag ment of a horizontal section at one end. of the furnace.

Similar numeralsand letters refer to similar arts throughout the several views.

'1 e regenerators 3, 4, 5-and 6 are located under the combustion chamber 7. The

chamber is composed of side walls having cast iron frames with horizontal plates 8 supported bybuck staves 8 which also su port an arched roof 9, the side walls being 0 osed with end walls. The chamber is divided by a central division wall 10, which is provided with iedges 10 for sup orting the inner ends of the re'torts 11 which have their outer or front ends rested upon fire clay bricks placed upon the horizontal plates 8. The division a wall? extends up to the arched roof and so divides the-chamber into two compartments 7? and 7 several tiers of retorts 11 arranged in vertical rows along the horizontal extension of semi .55 compartments and provided with condensers- F ig. 2 is a side elevation of Each} compartment contains- 1 1? of ordinary construction, the s ace around the outer end of the retorts and etween the buck staves and plates being filled with brick or fire cla in the usual way.

Extended alon the horizontal extension of the furnace un er the division wall .10 is a gas fine 12 which communicates with a series of vertical flues 12 in the division .wall that open or discharge just under the arched roof ,9 into the top part of the compartments 7 and 7*. Below the gas flue 12, are two gas regenerators 13 and 13 which communicate with the said. gas fine by means of short flues a, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1.

Along onppposite sides of the gas flue 12 are air fines 141, 14* which communicate with air re en'erators 15 and 15 by flues b, asis also s i'own by dotted lines in Fig. L; The. air flue-s 14 andv 14, respectively, communicateby means of a series of fines c with a seties of vertical fines 1.6 and 16, arranged in the front side walls between every two rows of r'etorts and extended up as high as the top have horizontal branches 17- made of fire-ole. and extendedback from the front at bot sides to the central division wall; They also have openings 17 opposite the branches, affording access to the latter for more or less chokin of them with clay or the-like tore late the admission of air into them.-

branches are provided with a series of perfo- I rations in their upper side, sufficient to let into the chamber the re niredamoflnt of air in jets directed prefera 1y upwardly at an angle to the upright. ment of the branches is such that their front ends come in the planes between the horizontal tiers of retorts.

Extended along overthe to of theretort chamber is an air flue 1-44 whic is connected in the system with the air flues 14 and 14". and with the same source of supply. This has small lines 14? communicating with the compartments 7 and 7 at the-top.

At the bottom of the'retort chamber comproductsof combustion down from said cornpartrnents into said flues 18 and 18- and from The vertical arrangethere said products can pass through short- Y ues e into the gas and air regenerators 13 and 110 15 and 13and 15", respectively, on each side as indicated in Fig. 1.

The gases under ressure pass from the source of supply to t e gas regenerators and 5 thence into t e gas fine 12 and thence'up through the vertical gas fines 12,into the top 0 the compartments 7" and 'Zhythence down through the s aces between andgiaround the retorts 11 and ranch air flues 17where I they are burned completely, and pass on to the gas and air regenerator's on the same side, and thence on to and out through flues 19 leading to a common exit. The air, or oxidizing gas, under pressure passes in chiefly 15 throu h the fines 14,-14, 14 and their branc es 16, 16 and 17, a small amount coming in at the bottom and top through the fiues 16', 16 and 14. The admission of air to the several branches 17 may be regulated 20 by chokin the entrances thereof more or less with c ay or the like, for producing the requisite uniform heating 0 the retorts throughout the entire furnace; The air and gas flues and the flues for the products of combustion (12, 14 14, 18 and 18) are extended horizontally the entire len th of the furnace and the short flues a, b an e connect therewith near their midlen th. The air and gas regerierators are mai le in sections extended each from op 0- site ends to near the mid-length of the ur- =nace, and connect, respectively, with the said short flues at their inner ends. This leaves open s ace between the sectional regenerators an under the furnace which renders the regenerators more accessible to be easily cleaned and decreases the resistance to the passage of the air and gas through them. Air induction or eduction pipes 20, 2 0 are 40 provided for taking fresh air into the: air reenerators or allowing the products of cornbustion to escape, at either end f the furnace, and as induction oreducti n pipes 21 and 21, 11 ewise, for taking'fresh gas into 4'5 the gas reg'enerators.

- eduction ipes are provided with reve'ising dampers so that bysa proper mani ulation ofthe dampers, gas taken in at eit er end, will be passed through the gas regenerators under that end, thence to the gas flue 12, and

along the entire len th thereof, thence up 5 through the series 0 fines 12 to the compartments 7* and 7 th'en'ce downward through said compartments, thence to the fiues 18 and 18* and thence to the air and gas regenerators under the-other end of the furnace and out through the exit fiues there; and air, similarly taken in at the same end, Wlll be. assed from the air regenerators at that en to the .air flues 14 and 14, and along the entire len th thereof, and thence upwardly through the vertical flues and out throug the perforations of he horizontal branches to meet the ases escending in the retort chambers an be mixed and burned there These induction or the formation of oxi with and discharged at the other end with the products of combu tion arbefore de scribed. i 1

The short fluies a, b, and a, being connected respectively with the flues 12, 14, 14", 18, 18, near the mid-length of the furnace, and with the sectional air regenerators and sectional gas re enerators near their'inner ends, operate a ternately in conjunction with the valved induction and eduction ipes (19, 20, 20, 21,212) tofeed the corn ustion compartments of the furnace with the regenerated gas and air continuously in the same direction and to exhaust from them the products of combustion continuously in the same di 3 rection, the, arrangement being such that the reversing of the movement of the air, as, and roducts of combustion is confiner to the ues and does not occur above the horizontal plane of the fines 12, 14, 14, 18, 18.

As I am aware, the regenerative retort furnaces having duplicate combustion chambers in use are limited in height to five tiers of retorts in each chamber. The air and fire gases enter at the bottom of one chamber and the products of combustion pass over to the other, and out at the bottom thereof, the course bein reversed at intervals, which interferes wit the constancy of the tempera-' ture. The air is introduced through ports in 5 the central division wall, which are difficult of access for re ulation. Even with such limited height, t e lower tiers of retorts receive greater heat than the upper ones, and it is impossible to heat the upper and lower 109 retorts evenly, or to have the same tem erature in both the chambers simultaneous y.

Some of the diflerences in o eration' and advantages of my regenerative urnaces over the previous ones are: That the air and fire 05 gases enter into and ass out of both of the retort chambers in he same manner; that the fresh 'gases enter the chambers at the top and descend therein; that the air enters, some at the bottom, some at the top, and someat 1o intermediate intervals, its course chiefly in opposition to the course of the gases, the flow of air and'gases being constant in both chambers that the products of combustion pass out in front at the bottom of each chamber alike 5 whichaids in keeping the open or front ends of the retort hotter and revents in a hi'glidegree his 3 that the reguiation of the admission of air is facilitated by the flues 16, 16 and ports 17 at the front; that the course of the air and the gases in the combustion chambers is not reversed, and the temperature conditions can be maintained constant that a much lower velocity of the uses can be roduced in the combustion chambers, 1-25 which is highly beneficial to perfect reduction and the complete combustion of the gases;

that the horizontal position of the air pipes '17 relatively to the inclined angle ofthe retorts'tends to cause a better mixing of the air and gases than the parallel relation of these parts would; that the sectional ,regenerators at the ends of the chambers with open space between them offer less resistance to the passage of air and gas through them and makes it easier to clean them; that the reversing of the air may be introduced in regulated quan.

tity at any of the several ports in front when desired to increase or varythe temperature in any part Where it may be found to be too high or too low.

hat I claim is- 1. In a furnace of the class described, the combination with a centrally divided retort chamber, of gas an air regenerators placed beneath the retort chamber compartments, gas flues communicating with the gas regencrators and with the retort chamber compartments at the top, air flues communicating with the air regencrators and with the retort chamber compartments at the bottom and at various intermediate points, the relative arrangement of the gas fines and air flues being such that the gas and air respectively, passing therefrom into the compartments shall move in opposite directions and flues for the products of combustion leading from the retort chamber compartments to the regenerators.

2. In a furnace of the class described, the combination with a centrally divided retort chamber of gas regenerators and air regenerators placed beneath the retort chamber (mnpartments, gas fiues communicating with the as regenerators and with the retort cham er compartments at the top, air fiues communicating with the air regenerators and with the retort chamber compartments at various points, flues for the products of combustion arranged beneath the retort chamber compartments at the front parts thereof, and communicating with the same, and fines connecting the said fiues for the products of combustion with the gas and the air regenerators. l

3. In a furnace of the class described and in combination, a centrally divided retort chamber, sectional gas regenerators and air regenerators placed beneath the retort chamber compartments and at the ends thereof with intervening space between them near the mid-length of the furnace, a centrally located horizontal ga's flue extended beneath the retort chamber compartments and having communication with. the sectional gas regenerators at each side of the open space between them and communicating with the chamber compartment spaces at the top, horizontal air fiues extended beneath the retort chamber compartments and having communication with the sectional air regenerators at each side of the 0 en space between them and with the chamber spaces at the bottom and top and at various other oints between the bottom and top, horizontal fines for the products of combustion extended beneath the retort chambers and having com- I munication with the chamber spaces at the bottom and with the sectional' gas and air regenerators at each side of the space between them, and reversing dampers for alternating the flow of gas and air in the sectional regenerators.

' OSCAR H. ELIEL. \Vitnesses:

JOHN T. HOAG, A. J. WARD. 

